Low-Grade Phosphorus-Containing Iron Ore for the Removal of Cu(II) Ion from Wastewater

The possible use of low-grade phosphorus-containing iron ore (LGPIO), a raw and wasted industrial solid material as an adsorbent to remove Cu(II) ion from wastewater, was investigated. Studies were carried out as a function of initial pH value, adsorption time, initial Cu(II) ion concentration, adsorption temperature and LGPIO dosage. The results show that the Cu(II) ion removal efficiency exceeds 99.65% and Cu(II) ion concentration is less than 0.30 mg/L under the conditions of pH value 6.1, temperature 25 °C, adsorption time 30 min, initial Cu(II) ion concentration 100 mg/L and adsorbent dosage 10 g/L. After Cu(II) ion removal reaction, the Cu(II) ion concentrations completely accord with the requirement of national discharge standard of water pollutants for iron and steel industry (GB 13456-2012) (TCu(II) = 0.5 mg/L) in China. Therefore, it can be concluded that LGPIO is a promising low-cost adsorbent which is suitable for the removal of Cu(II) ion from wastewater.